This is a file photo of tofu from last year. Remember: Fresh tofu is always the best.
There is much news to digest these days – if you’re in the market for this type of information.
The U.S. Senate approved legislation to create jobs, Toyota has its automobile safety woes and Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke predicted the economic recovery will, um, be slow.
That Hummer deal - in which a Chinese company would buy the U.S. brand associated with military-like vehicles – has hit an obstacle has fallen through.
And consumer confidence in the United States has dropped after it did relatively better in the past months.
At TofuWatch, confidence is up (in terms relating to soybean cake) because, well, circular logic, albeit it with ventures into new territory, really can never disappoint.
Sir Richard Branson's new submersible, dubbed the Necker Nymph, received widespread media attention. The sleek watercraft is made by Hawkes Ocean Technologies. Image source: Hawkes Ocean Technologies
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I know it’s easy to call for innovation to drive economic growth at any point in history.
And the context of the times can always be sticky. If the United States was flush with venture capital or excess dollars in 2010, it would make the answers and next steps so much easier.
Of course, we are all familiar with the economic times.
The Economist, the august, market-oriented publication, recently reminded readers in the United States of words that always merit attention: Jobless recovery.
That said, innovation is continuing in this country – albeit not at the pace that many would like to see – as evidenced by Sir Richard Branson’s new, sleek submersible watercraft, the Necker Nymph.
The Federal Reserve building stands in Washington, D.C. Photo source: David Pollitt's blog, dpollitt.net
I remember the days when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had so much command of the U.S. economy – and respect - that journalists and observers would attend his speeches or Congressional testimony and parse every single word of his talk.
Did he just raise his eyebrow right after he stated that sentence? Was that a smile or a contemplative movement of the lip?
But when the times are tough (or tougher), questions intensify.
See article in The New York Times about the confirmation of Chairman Ben Bernake. Here’s a 2008 story about him from The New Yorker.
I should start by saying that the behind-the-scenes video from CBS News that you see above is from a bank failure in 2009 – and occurred outside Washington state.
But if you live in the Seattle area and didn’t see the news Friday night, Evergreen Bank has failed and Washington state regulators have closed its seven branches.
Not enough capital and bad loans were cited as the reasons, The Seattle Times reported. Umpqua Bank, based in Oregon, will begin operating the branches.
The Seattle Public Library and other systems are facing tighter budgets. But city governments and people are, too. Photo source: Seattle Public Library
Since I left my full-time job last year and became a father a few years ago, there is one place that I’ve truly enjoyed visiting: The public library.
My visits to libraries wherever I was have gone up and down, based on my age, interests and point in life.
But I’ve always gone back – even during an era when it’s easy to argue that information is at your digital fingertips with the Internet and especially hipster phones such as the iPhone.
There are many reasons why I’ve returned to libraries over the decades:
They offer a quiet place to read, reflect and study.
I’ve used libraries in Silicon Valley (as a kid), Guangzhou and Beijing (as a foreign language student), New York City (as a graduate student) and Seattle and its suburbs (as a parent and just ordinary person).
Yes, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel in the past.
Here’s a catch: Libraries need money to operate (meaning to stay open at the least)Â - and budget cutbacks have arrived.
But people who exhibit spending behavior which is not considered to be rational by any means are one important pillar of the U.S. economic recovery following the Great Recession – the worst in at least 50 years.
There is a real – and sad – possibility that U.S.-China relations this year might become tenser.
Tensions have been lurking about for years on a variety of issues, including trade and currency valuation. The Google news this week – announcing that the company wanted an unfiltered search engine in China and sophisticated cyber attacks against Gmail – marks the first cork to pop for 2010.
For the most part, China - including its economy and the nation as a whole – is ascending. Its leaders are using their new economic, political and global clout in many noticeable ways.
In the on-again, off-again world of blogging and finding time during the busy holiday season, I’m back.
I’m back now because I have a few extra moments. I’m making the case for clear communication, across all demarcation lines in life and even when we all speak English.
Why?
I recently tried getting more information regarding unemployment benefits and health care insurance.
I’m still collecting unemployment benefits because my full-time job search continues.
The state representatives with whom I talked were friendly and earnest. I am not faulting them.
Images of Edith Macefield's house in Seattle - the one she refused to sell for $1 million - have shown up on Chinese news sites. The image was taken by Joshua Trujillo, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer photographer at the time. Photo source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer via nddaily.com
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Web sites and blogs in China have burst with news in recent days about tensions in the Chengdu area involving a construction company that wanted to build a road through a woman’s house – and her refusal to leave.
The Chinese describe this type of structure as a “nail house.”
And the case of Edith Macefield, the famous woman from Seattle who stayed in her own “nail house,” has surfaced in China.
The Chinese case, which began in 2007, is complicated but the woman reportedly lived in a spacious building in the Chengdu area, which is located in the southwest province of Sichuan.
Some media reports say that she built her house without the proper government permits – but that practice occurs in China and she had been living in it for more than a decade.
She asked for more than $1 million to leave. Compensation was offered but only for the building materials and decorations and not the market value.
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